The by-polls were necessitated due to the disqualification of the 18 MLAs for shifting loyalties from the AIADMK to TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK.

When the 59 constituencies across eight states will vote on May 19 in the last lap of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu will witness by-polls to four Assembly constituencies – Ottapidaram, Thiruparankundram, Aravakurichi and Sulur. The by-elections to the 18 Assembly seats were held on April 18 along with the second phase of the general elections. This is the first time, the two major players – the AIADMK and DMK – are taking on each other in the absence of their party's stalwarts – late J Jayalalithaa and late M Karunanidhi. The battle is between three parties - DMK, AIADMK and AMMK. The by-polls were necessitated due to the disqualification of the 18 MLAs for shifting loyalties from the AIADMK to TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK.

Following the demise of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK split into two factions - one led by VK Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s longtime aide, and another led by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam. Meanwhile, TTV Dhinakaran, nephew of Sasikala, formed AMMK. The AIADMK and AMMK are fighting to stake claim to the legacy of Jayalalithaa. Besides this, the AIADMK is also struggling to remain at the helm of affairs as it is running the government on the wafer-thin majority.

Importance of this by-polls

The total strength of the State Assembly is 234. The AIADMK has 114 MLAs without the speaker while the DMK has got 97 seats in the Assembly. The AIADMK needs four more seats to gain a comfortable majority so that its government can survive till 2021. On the other hand, the DMK requires 21 seats to unseat the ruling dispensation in the state. Some political analysts believe that if the DMK does well in the by-polls and sweeps the Lok Sabha elections, some AIADMK MLAs might be more than willing to switch their allegiance to the DMK.

Candidates in the fray

Thiruparankundram

AIADMK's S Muniyandi is up against P Saravanan of the DMK and I Mahendran of the AMMK.

AMMK’s K Sukumar is contesting against Pongalur N Palanisami of the DMK and VP Kandasamy of the AIADMK.

Aravakurichi

The AIADMK has fielded Senthil Nathan to take on PH Shahul Hameed of the AMMK and Senthil Balaji of the DMK.

New Entrant

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan founded Makkal Needhi Maim (MNM) in 2018. Haasan has fielded 40 candidates – 39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry - in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He has put up candidates for the by-polls too. P Shaktivel, G Mayilsami and S Mohanraj would contest from the Thiruprankundram, Sulur and Aravakurichi Assembly seats respectively. M Gandhi is contesting from Ottapidaram, a reserved constituency.

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All you need to know about Tamil Nadu by-pollsDescription:The by-polls were necessitated due to the disqualification of the 18 MLAs for shifting loyalties from the AIADMK to TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK.Nikhil Jha